Group says Amerock building could spark major downtown development
By Jim Hagerty
Online Editor
The group Friends of Ziock (FOZ) celebrated at the Prairie Street Brewhouse Thursday, after the building it has been championing to save was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
An architectural rendering by Gary Anderson of what a redeveloped Ziock/Amerock building may look like. (Photo by Jim Hagerty)
For more than a year, FOZ has been rallying to save the Ziock building at 416 S. Main St. The city-owned structure was recently up for possible demolition before Friends of Ziock began efforts to make it a flagship for downtown redevelopment.
With the building’s future unknown, FOZ spokesmen say demolishing the 250,000-square-foot property would be nothing short of unwise.
“Tough projects like this that take lots of hard work and digging can yield awesomely rewarding moments,” FOZ spokesman Don Bissell said. “One such moment came when we began to recognize patterns in property value data points. Suddenly, it became clear what really is scuttling private development downtown. When that happened, the scope of our work was no longer just a single building. The scope is literally fighting for the life of our city.”
Commonly referred to as the Amerock building, the Ziock structure has been vacant since the 1980s, after 60 years of housing manufacturing and textile companies. Since 1995, a host of developers–to no avail—has attempted to redevelop the structure. Each has been hampered by poor planning and economic woes.
Enter 2010 and a new era of opportunity in the slow-going of downtown Rockford redevelopment. Officials hope state and federal subsidies could make the Ziock building an attractive carrot for developers.
The Illinois Historic Tax Credit, which could provide a willing developer more than 45 percent in tax relief, changes a game that, for more than a decade, ended before it even began.
“The tax credit is a game-changer,” Bissell said. “There’s quite a bit of opportunities there. The city owns the building and we will help market it for many possible things. That could be Embry-Riddle residences and classrooms; and we just discovered that downtown could absorb about 60 hotel rooms.”
The historic tax credit, sparked by Senate Bill 2168 (S.B. 2168), creates the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit for the costs and expenses of rehabbing and renovating eligible properties.
The Rockford landmark, named the Ziock Building in honor of textile pioneer William H. Ziock, was built in three phases between 1912 and 1950 by the Ziock family and the Amerock Corporation.
The building initially housed titans of two industries that helped fuel the industrial growth of Rockford: textiles and hardware. Today, the complex is commonly known as the Amerock Building because of its last major tenant and owner.
Meantime, the City of Rockford is negotiating an agreement with the Illinois Preservation Agency, which could allow for the Ziock building to be demolished if developers don’t come forward.
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2 Comments
Somebody has been smoking some seriously tainted weed on this one!
FOZ must think they’re in OZ because only Dorothy’s ruby red shoes could make this dog for downtown any prettier!
Observe this beautiful gem of an assets, lying empty for well nigh 30 years isn’t actually a towering eyesore and dump, it’s the eighth wonder of the world a real opportunity for development if only we have enough taxpayer money to restore it to it’s former glory of a gold plated empty building.
Who are the friends of Z, And what is their connection to “willing developers?”
Only the City would be stupid enough to own this dog and continue to throw good money after bad; see the metro center as an example of the same.
More of the same: bailout money for the hidden owners of all of the downtown trash and their political lapdogs
Friends of Ziock is group hoping to help the city develop the building. Whether that will be successful is up to what the City of Rockford will push for.
And, yes, there are developers associated with the group who have already rehabbed several downtown buildings.
The Richardson Building, which houses the downtown Subway restaurant, is one of these properites. That building was a former “dog,” that nobody wanted. In fact, talks of demolishing it existed before it was redeveloped.
It now contains three luxury residences above the sandwich shop. All three are occupied. The Ziock building has potential to be an asset–a tax base for downtown. As it sits, it isn’t doing anything but suck resources from the pockets of the community.
With the historic tax credit now on the table, a developer with a viable plan could rehab the structure and, theoretically, make it a flagship for downtown economic development.
Friends of Ziock’s position is that using a wrecking ball to redevelop the property is not necessary and is unwise. But, again, the City of Rockford owns the building. To demolish it, they will now need permission form historic preservation officials.
Looking at the history of the Ziock structure, it is clear FOZ has made more efforts than anyone has in 30 years. But, like anything, it will come down to what a developer and the City of Rockford is willing to risk. Returns on investments in real estate these days are spotty.
However, real estate still remains the only investment proven to outpace inflation in the long run. But, what the Amerock building has working against it is its size. The city will need to be careful how it goes about redeveloping its 250,000 square feet.
Rooftops must go up first in any successful, long term economic development plan. There has been thousands over the years who have cried for more shopping, department stores and other businesses downtown. However, since thousands of people throughout the years have sprawled east, away from downtown, commerce has followed them.
More developers must be willing to build residential properties downtown for a viable plan to work. Occupants with disposable income must be willing to buy in and take the associated risks.
Simply embarking on a “build it and they will come” plan, opening more restaurants and stores in hopes people from all over the city will flock to them is a backwards way of developing an area and simply doesn’t work.
However, City officials may present numbers that indicate razing the Amerock building and marketing it as a riverfront piece of land is the best decision. Time will tell.